Compare the2024 Mercedes G-ClassVS 2024 Chevrolet Suburban

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes G-Class have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Chevrolet Suburban doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

The G-Class’ pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Suburban doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The Mercedes G-Class has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Suburban doesn’t offer knee airbags.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the G-Class. But it costs extra on the Suburban.

The G-Class has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Suburban’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the G-Class has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and Active Brake Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Chevrolet charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Suburban and the Suburban’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

The G-Class’ driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Suburban doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the G-Class and the Suburban have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and rearview cameras.

The G-Class comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Suburban’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The G-Class’ corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Suburban’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the G-Class have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of some of the engines in the Suburban.

The G 550’s standard 4.0 turbo V8 produces 61 more horsepower (416 vs. 355) and 67 lbs.-ft. more torque (450 vs. 383) than the Suburban’s standard 5.3 V8. The AMG G 63’s standard 4.0 turbo V8 produces 157 more horsepower (577 vs. 420) and 167 lbs.-ft. more torque (627 vs. 460) than the Suburban’s optional 6.2 V8.

As tested in Motor Trend the G 550 is faster than the Chevrolet Suburban 5.3 V8:

The G-Class has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Suburban. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

For better stopping power the G-Class’ standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Suburban:

The G-Class stops shorter than the Suburban:

For better traction, the G-Class has larger standard tires than the Suburban (275/55R19 vs. 265/65R18). The G-Class’ optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Suburban (295/40R22 vs. 275/50R22).

The G 550’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Suburban’s standard 65 series tires. The G-Class’ optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Suburban’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the G 550 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Suburban.

The G-Class has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the G-Class flat and controlled during cornering. The Suburban’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The AMG G 63 handles at .75 G’s, while the Suburban High Country 4WD pulls only .53 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The AMG G 63 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.7 seconds quicker than the Suburban Z71 4WD (28.2 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 30.9 seconds @ .5 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the G-Class has a 1.5 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Suburban (9.5 vs. 8 inches), allowing the G-Class to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The G 550 is 3 feet shorter than the Suburban, making the G-Class easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the G-Class easier. The G-Class’ cargo hatch lift-over height is 29.3 inches, while the Suburban’s liftover is 37 inches.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Suburban LT/RST/Z71/Premier/High Country, the G-Class has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The G-Class’ front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Suburban’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the G-Class the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Suburban can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The G-Class has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Suburban doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the G-Class has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Suburban doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The G-Class offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Suburban.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Mercedes G-Class has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Suburban LT/RST/Z71/Premier/High Country offers wireless charging.